So 7 grams today was definitely much better. Here’s what I did: rinse,25s,25s,30s,60s,70s.

Still experimenting with steeping times. The tea had a nice light flavor with perfumey floral notes as usual. When I jumped to 6o seconds, it got a little bitter so I’ll have to try something different next time. What I REALLY need is a thermometer so I can stop playing the guessing game over here and make this tea properly!

and we all wanted as many colors as humanly possible so we would have swaps where each person would buy one 100g ball of yarn, divide it into 20 5g balls and send them off so that we would each end up with 20 different colored 5g balls, hence the scale. So much fun. I’m still using all that yarn. lol

This is only my third time tasting a full-leaf oolong tea. My palate is not very refined so I didn’t notice much of a difference between this and the one that I tried in the Steepster Select Dec 13 box (Nantou Four Seasons by In Pursuit of Tea) but that’s great because I LOVED that one. So anyway that’s why I made sure to get one from Nantou, Taiwan.

This is how I drank my tea:
Water : 120ml – 194℉-ish
Use 9.3 Grams Tea
7 steeps : rinse,39s,25s,30s, 30s, 40s,60s,90s,120s
Yixing pot
Rinsing time is around 5 seconds

9 grams was way too much. By the second steep they expanded so much that I could barely close the lid on the teapot! It didn’t help that I oversteeped the first steep because I was doing something else while counting (big mistake) and went 14 seconds over. It was so bitter that I had to throw out that cup. The second rinse was still bitter, but I drank it anyway., and the following steepings where not quite as bitter. The tea was nice and perfumey, very floral. Only just a little bit overwpowering because I had used too many leaves. The flavor stayed strong with each steeping and seemed like it could go on forever, but by the 7th steep I’d had enough. Next time less leaves and no distractions.

Flavors: Flowers, Orchids, Perfume

Preparation

Glad you enjoy it. Steeping times are an inexact science. I have a tgy that you steep only 10-20 seconds and a jin xuan that you start at 45, but it looks like what you did is a good place to start. I usually aim for a little under a 1/4 volume of my gaiwan which for my 150- 170 ml ones is around 1.5-2 TSP. Have fun playing with the tea.

I remember my last mountain tea order being a lot better Im a little concerned they do not display harvest dates so for all I know the quality drop is a by product of stale tea but I have also tasted a lot of tea since my last order so maybe my tastes have just improved. Either way was not impressed with my first trial with this tea. I felt the tea drunk from the gao shan (fish eye lens, tranquility, big dumb smile) but flavor wise it seemed flat. Will wait to throw a # rating out there until I get dipper into the bag but at the moment a little disappointed considering the money I dropped on my last order.

This was a Christmas present from my husband which was initially chosen for it’s name as my middle name is Jade. It finally has a beautiful flower caddy now so I can open and try this Oolong after two months of waiting.

Second Steep – 25 seconds
Not as sweet as the previous steep but it is just as gentle. Also getting a creaminess coming through.

Third Steep – 30 seconds
Increasing in flavour but still remaining soft in thickness. The peach is really coming through nicely, sweet yet crisp. Also still very creamy.

Fourth Steep – 40 seconds
Very floral, sweet and creamy. Like honey suckle and peach but mild versions of each. Some dryness and perfume in the after taste.

Fifth Steep – 60 seconds
Much stronger now, peach is still shining through as is the honey suckle. A very nice strength now.

Sixth Steep – 90 Seconds
Remains creamy and silken. Peach is toned down but sweet flowers still very much present.

Seventh Steep – 120 seconds
Still a lot of flavour and no harshness though some mineral vegetal flavours coming through like sweetcorn mixed with fresh spinach.

Eigth Steep – 180 seconds
Lighter now and the sweetcorn has taken over the peach. Still floral and sweet with high creamy notes.

Overall –
It’s a nice Oolong that is sweet and floral whilst being light yet creamy (for the most part). Nice elements of peach and sweetcorn are found throughout and a hint of perfume in the after taste.

I prefer stronger Oolongs that are more mineral and green but this was very nice, the balance was superb and I think it would be great iced. So while it may not be one of my usual favourites I’m still thankful I bought 2oz of this.

Flavors: Corn Husk, Flowers, Honeydew, Peach

Preparation

This was posted under Jade Oolong which I thought was correct at the time, but it turns out that Mountain Tea Co has a Jade Oolong AND a Formosa Jade Oolong. Whoops, my bad. So please disregard my previous steeping note while I paste this review into the correct place.

So this is the winner of the NATC 2012 – Green Oolong Category – 1st Place?
Excellent! Let’s see what it’s all about, shall we?

I must say I was rather surprised that an award winner wasn’t already logged here at Steepster! I’m very excited to try it and grateful it was sent to me!

I agree with the official product description saying this smells a little like cashew prior to infusing. I’m loving that because I LOVE Cashews!

I also agree once infused it smells like orchards and hay. I wasn’t really making the connection to the sugar cane, tho, but that’s ok!

It has a buttery-green texture on the tongue. The floral notes SHINE as you sip. This is VERY slippery – you know how I hate the term ‘mouth feel’ but I’m not sure how else to describe it. It’s a very green-flavored oolong and I totally see why it won that award! It’s the definition of Green Oolong! Nicely done!